HALO · EXPLORING NOVEL HALO-PHOTOAUTOTROPHS FOR A CIRCULAR BIOECONOMY VIA TRANSFORMATION OF SYNGAS INTO MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOUNDS

The European Union has clear targets in place to maintain an average global temperature 2˚ below pre-industrial levels, as shown by the Green Deal, Circular economy action plan, and Bioeconomy strategy; reducing emissions levels, incentivising a green, circular economy, and consolidating Europe's resources and environments. Gasification can convert organic waste into a potential feedstock (syngas), while reducing landfill volume, and emissions. Furthermore, microbial processes are seen as a potential next step to de-fossilise the industrial chemical industry. Purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) can produce a host of value-add compounds while fixing inorganic wastes (e.g., CO2), gaining interest as a microbial tool for next-generation biorefineries. As such, the HALO project seeks to use halophilic PPB to convert syngas, CO2/CO/H2, into a host of valuable chemicals (medical, pharmaceutical products). The host of target compounds, the osmolytes ectoine and hydroxyectoine, the amino acid proline, the enzyme ubiquinone, and carotenoids (β-carotene, lycopene, spheroidene, spirilloxanthin) have high market value, with lycopene reported at 5500€/kg. In order to develop PPB syngas valorisation technology, specific PPB's ability to fix CO2 and CO must be determined and new high mass transfer bioreactors designed. HALO is a multi- and inter-disciplinary research project which aims to help achieve the EU's Green Deal goal of continental carbon net-zero by 2050 while creating green, competitive, and sustainable bioindustries and economies. On a global scale, HALO will help fulfil the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals 13, 11, and 12 (Climate Action, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, respectively). Additionally, this project will allow the researcher's current abilities to flourish, while learning new techniques and methods from pioneering researchers outside of his immediate field of expertise.